Ovareactions

Disclaimer: I’m not a scientist. Everything I know about germ cell ovarian cancer, I’ve learnt in the past year and mainly from a leaflet I was given by Macmillan after my surgery. Germ cell tumours are rare, but more common in younger women. Germ cells are the cells in the body that develop into eggs/sperm. But sometimes they can develop into things that they’re not supposed to. Most germ cell ovarian tumours are benign and nothing to worry about. But occasionally, and unluckily for me, they can be malignant.

I had a mixed germ cell tumour, meaning it was made up of more than one type of tumour; a yolk sac tumour and an immature teratoma. Yolk sac tumours are highly malignant with rapid growth, and metastasise¹ fast. They can be detected by the AFP blood marker. My yolk sac tumour joined forces with a grade 3 immature teratoma. Immature teratomas are often made up of several different types of tissue, such as hair, muscle, and bone, which sounds extremely gross. Naturally, my brother was disappointed that I hadn’t requested to see it.

Symptoms of germ cell ovarian cancer can slightly differ from the BEAT symptoms. They can include:

• pain or a feeling of pressure in the pelvis or tummy
• a feeling of fullness or gradual swelling of the tummy
• irregular periods or signs of pregnancy
• high temperatures (fevers), chills, feeling or being sick and pain in the abdomen

Other than a feeling of fullness and swelling in my stomach, I didn’t notice any of these symptoms.

The rarity of this type of cancer would mean a trip to Charing Cross Hospital, a specialist centre for germ cell tumours. I’d be under the care of Professor Seckl, who had established a new national service for malignant ovarian germ cell tumours in 2013. As my Nanny Margaret would have said, he was ‘top of the tree’. The ease of being referred to the nation’s leading specialist was a stark reminder of how lucky we are to have the NHS.

I knew I’d be having BEP chemotherapy, which is more commonly used to treat testicular cancer. Professor Seckl and his team would determine how many cycles I’d need and how the treatment would be administered.

I’m very fortunate that research into germ cell tumours has come a long way in the last thirty years. Germ cell ovarian cancer is now very treatable and survivable when caught early. Shout out to science.

¹Fancy cancer language for spreading to other parts of the body.